Got a court summons...advice sought

SethInStone · 23-07-2007 8:29pm #1

Hi,
I got a court summons for unpaid motor fines. The fines were for no tax disc being displayed, and for parking in a disabled persons space.

I dont like making excuses for either, but regarding the parking in disabled space, it was 10.55pm, the road was very quiet, the 2 other available disabled persons spaces were free, they were right across from the offlicense and it was just about to close, and I could see that there were no customers in the shop (no queue). Still a silly thing to do. Two guards happened to walk by in the 30 seconds I was in the offy, checked my car and saw it was illegally parked and no disc. I met them on the way back to the car and they issued me the fines.

Anyway, I put it on the long finger, and then my car was stolen and I kinda just forgot about the whole thing.

Now I have just gotten a summons, but I am planning on leaving the country soon and the court date is set after that. I have been down to the Garda station and the Garda who issued the fines will be in on Wednesday so I can arrange to have a talk with her about it.

Just wanted to know what kind of fine I can expect from this? Or what's the worst that can happen basically. Any advice appreciated.

numorouno · 23-07-2007 8:38pm

go to court, plead guilty on the disabled persons bay and apologise perhaps. on the tax thing was it taxed at the time.if you could proveit was taxed and it was just a mistake that the disk wasnt on the window you could possibly plead your case although the office is NO DISC DISPLAYED.depends on the guard and the judge. imo there is no excuse to park in a disabled bay at any time in almost any circumstances excusing life and death eg outside a maternity hospital and the missus is about to pop. just my 2c

SethInStone · 23-07-2007 9:08pm

numorouno wrote:

go to court, plead guilty on the disabled persons bay and apologise perhaps. on the tax thing was it taxed at the time.if you could proveit was taxed and it was just a mistake that the disk wasnt on the window you could possibly plead your case although the office is NO DISC DISPLAYED.depends on the guard and the judge. imo there is no excuse to park in a disabled bay at any time in almost any circumstances excusing life and death eg outside a maternity hospital and the missus is about to pop. just my 2c

Yeah there is no excuse really. As I said, just a silly thing to do...thought i'd get away with it but I didn't.

Any idea what kind of fine I'll be looking at?

Is there any chance of getting imprisonment for this? (extreme I know but just want to shut that possibility out of my mind!)

Also, I plan on leaving the country soon so if I cant avoid the summons after talking with the Garda about it, I will have to get someone to represent me in court. Or, postpone my travel plans. Would this have to be a lawyer or can it be friend/family?

I was thinking of sayin to the Garda that if we can avoid the court appearance I will make a sizeable donation to a charity of her choice. What dyou think of this?

TCP/IP · 23-07-2007 9:34pm

no jail time so get that out of your head

mikemac · 23-07-2007 9:42pm

SethInStone wrote:

I was thinking of sayin to the Garda that if we can avoid the court appearance I will make a sizeable donation to a charity of her choice. What dyou think of this?

Bribery eh?

Yes, zero chance of jail time

SethInStone · 24-07-2007 1:08am

micmclo wrote:

Bribery eh?

Yes, zero chance of jail time

Yeah I know this sounds just like a bribery proposition! But I actually genuinely mean it so maybe I should really carefully think how to phrase it:p

sunny2004 · 24-07-2007 9:01am

SethInStone wrote:

Yeah there is no excuse really. I was thinking of sayin to the Garda that if we can avoid the court appearance I will make a sizeable donation to a charity of her choice. What dyou think of this?

Did you have tax ? if you did not then you may in fact have to pay tax backdated.

The bribe is a no no !!

Just be straight and apologise and keep saying "I am an idiot"
You can also say "I am an idiot" when you are in the company of the Guard !

Honesty is simply the best way to deal with this...

You had no tax ?
you parked without your weelchair

you ignored the fines..
and now your thinking of bribing a Guard !

Keep saying "I am an idiot "

Go to the garda explain everything with no excuses and I wish you all the best of luck !

YOU wont be going to jail, but if you end up in front of a judge you wont like it trust me !

Anan1 · 24-07-2007 9:52am

OP - I can't help you with the tax thing, but I was in court for my girlfriend recently in Dún Laoghaire (parking fines). I saw a couple of cases of people having parked in disabled spaces, the judge was giving fines of €100-150. Not ideal, but hardly the end of the world either. As the others say, just be apologetic & genuine. It'll probably cost you a total of €200-300. Good luck.

Gregor Samsa · 24-07-2007 9:59am

SethInStone wrote:

I was thinking of sayin to the Garda that if we can avoid the court appearance I will make a sizeable donation to a charity of her choice. What dyou think of this?

Seriously, do not do that. :eek: That's the kind of thing that could end you up in jail!

Anan1 · 24-07-2007 2:57pm

SethInStone wrote:

I was thinking of sayin to the Garda that if we can avoid the court appearance I will make a sizeable donation to a charity of her choice. What dyou think of this?

I wouldn't do that either. Just get a friend or family member to go to court in your place, pay the fine and forget about the whole thing. By the way, there is always a chance that the Guard won't show up in court on the day. If that happens, you're off scot free.

subway · 24-07-2007 3:40pm

if youve been summonsed i would imagine that its out of the garda's hands at this stage.
they might not even be allowed discuss the case with you if law and order has taught me anything...

GTC · 24-07-2007 3:56pm

No guarantees from me, but if you actually went and talked to the garda who issued the fines etc, you may be able to explain your circumstances and reach an amicable close to the whole thing, maybe even calling off the case on the day in court.

Aside from that happening, I would recommend pleading guilty and explaining your circumstances as respectfully as possible to the judge, you may get a very light rap rather than a full blown heavy fine.

Linford · 24-07-2007 4:07pm

Like what subway said, I think once the summons has been issued it is out of the hands of the gardai.

Just be apologetic and respectful to the court, only way you can end up in jail is if you don't appear in court.

sunny2004 · 24-07-2007 8:49pm

Linford wrote:

Like what subway said, I think once the summons has been issued it is out of the hands of the gardai. .

This is not the case, you can explain and come to an arrangment with a garda. when you appear in court the garda simply tells the judge you have sorted out whatever it is.. Say it was tax and you organised tax.
In my opinion you are going to court.. but talk to the garda..

Seanie M · 24-07-2007 9:40pm

SethInStone wrote:

I got a court summons for unpaid motor fines for parking in a disabled persons space.

So, there is justice in the world after all. Take it like a man and stop whinging, you should not have parked there is you were not supposed to. Sorry, but that's the law.

nudelude · 24-07-2007 10:34pm

Helpful Seanie! I was in court recently for an unpaid parking fine. All the cases in this particular court where to do with traffic offences. Its very routine. Anybody who turned up to answer their case and pleaeded guilty, the Judge asked the garda what the on the spot fine was, and he doubled it. He did the same for some cases who didn't turn up but I believe some judges are a bit narky about people just not turning up. I think you can have somebody make a represntation on your behalf but you would need to have a very good reason for not attending yourself. You will not end up in jail. Its a bit nerve racking standing in front of the Judge but your not a thief or a joyrider. The judges see this. Theres no point turning the good citizens against the system.

Good kuck with it.

Let us know how you do.

Fey! · 25-07-2007 1:02am

Seanie-M; where did the OP whinge and try to wriggle out of it? From what I've read, he's putting his hands up and saying "I did it", and he hasn't asked how to avoid court, he's asked can he settle the case somehow as he's leaving the country and wants to have a clean slate.

Talk to the Garda; despite what you read on boards, some of them can actually be very reasonable and helpful. If you can't get hold of the Garda, talk to the district office in the station that the Garda is stationed in, or the clerk of the court you're due to attend. Explain that you're going away, and that with the planning you forgot about the fine, but you want to get the situation sorted before you leave.

Linford · 25-07-2007 8:33am

sunny2004 wrote:

This is not the case, you can explain and come to an arrangment with a garda. when you appear in court the garda simply tells the judge you have sorted out whatever it is.. Say it was tax and you organised tax.
In my opinion you are going to court.. but talk to the garda..

A friend of mine tried this, he is friendly with a senior Garda and the issue related to him not receiving the ticket because he had moved address. There was nothing the Gardai could do for him as the date had been set, however the the garda advised the Judge in court of the issue. The Judge was sympathetic and he only had to pay the original fine.

Seanie M · 25-07-2007 12:32pm

Look guys, I have a sister in law who is wheelchair bound, and I am sick to death with motorists who park so far up on a path, double park in a space near a shopping centre entrance where there are no wheelchair spots close by, or park illegally in a wheelchair-accessible space, that force our less than fortunate disabled members of society to take (dangerous) alternative routes, wait inexcusably for God knows how long for a proper space to become free, or arrive late to a meeting. Give me a break. The law regarding road use and special areas for special people is there for a damn reason!

So what if the OP knows what he did was wrong and holds his hands up. He also knew BEFORE he was caught what he was doing, as do pretty much all people like the OP that get caught in a similar road traffic offence. If he wasn't caught, he'd get away with it. But he was. Now he'll know better, and maybe other people reading this will learn as well. It's called being considerate to your fellow motorists. Classic example of "learn by one's mistakes".

Seanie.

Keith C · 25-07-2007 12:39pm

Did you not read his post seanie, it was near 11pm at night & rushing in to get beer before offo closed, hardly the same as parking on a sat afternoon for a few hours in a handicapped space.
I agreed with you completely, but this is a little differant & some leniancy should be shown

Anan1 · 25-07-2007 12:40pm

Seanie M wrote:

So what if the OP knows what he did was wrong and holds his hands up. He also knew BEFORE he was caught what he was doing, as do pretty much all people like the OP that get caught in a similar road traffic offence. If he wasn't caught, he'd get away with it. But he was. Now he'll know better, and maybe other people reading this will learn as well. It's called being considerate to your fellow motorists. Classic example of "learn by one's mistakes".

Seanie.

The OP knows this, and he's going to court for it. What more do you want?

jhegarty · 25-07-2007 1:49pm

Seanie M wrote:

Look guys, I have a sister in law who is wheelchair bound, and I am sick to death with motorists who park so far up on a path, double park in a space near a shopping centre entrance where there are no wheelchair spots close by, or park illegally in a wheelchair-accessible space, that force our less than fortunate disabled members of society to take (dangerous) alternative routes, wait inexcusably for God knows how long for a proper space to become free, or arrive late to a meeting. Give me a break. The law regarding road use and special areas for special people is there for a damn reason!

So what if the OP knows what he did was wrong and holds his hands up. He also knew BEFORE he was caught what he was doing, as do pretty much all people like the OP that get caught in a similar road traffic offence. If he wasn't caught, he'd get away with it. But he was. Now he'll know better, and maybe other people reading this will learn as well. It's called being considerate to your fellow motorists. Classic example of "learn by one's mistakes".

Seanie.

He is not trying get out of it... he wants to pay the fine and not have it hanging over him...

Most posts on here are people trying to get off on some mad technicality (the garda didn't have his hat on type stuff) but this isn't the case here....

Tony Danza · 25-07-2007 2:10pm

Seanie M wrote:

Classic example of "learn by one's mistakes".

Seanie.

I'm not understanding your point here at all, first of all you said take it like a man, which from what I can tell that's what the OP is doing, just that unfortunately he won't be in the country at the time of the appointment, then you say "learn by one's mistakes" which by holding his hands up and saying it's his fault is what he's doing here.

You either want the OP to wind back time and undo what he's done or you just wanted to rant and take out your anger on somebody?

Seanie M · 26-07-2007 10:42am

Tony Danza wrote:

I'm not understanding your point here at all, first of all you said take it like a man, which from what I can tell that's what the OP is doing, just that unfortunately he won't be in the country at the time of the appointment, then you say "learn by one's mistakes" which by holding his hands up and saying it's his fault is what he's doing here.

You either want the OP to wind back time and undo what he's done or you just wanted to rant and take out your anger on somebody?

No, I'm not trying to do the whole rant thing. The "learn by one's mistakes" was a general statement, which I meant for those reading this (plus some of my venting!) that consideration towards those genuinely in need of disabled parking space and accessibility should take note that (even to the OP's expense) such behaviour is not being tolerated in cases.

I'm sorry if some of what I said above is a little OTT, I just can't stand the sight bad, ignorant, or deliberately selfish parking. :mad: I don't mean to offend.

Seanie.

Got a court summons...advice sought

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